Camping

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Turkeys

I took the boys up to Pisgah for an educational program on turkeys. They are always eager to venture up the mountain to explore and learn. I think I love it more than they do!

The class was led by Ranger Daniel. The boys are always excited when Ranger Daniel conducts class and today was no exception. Ranger Daniel's enthusiasm is very captivating and you can't help but listen become engaged.

Ranger Daniel began by telling the class about the wild turkey. He explained that turkeys almost went extinct and how they were placed on the endangered species list in the 1970s. He told us about their habitat needs and how managing forests is a big reason for such an amazing comeback for the wild turkey. We learned that not only are wild turkeys no longer endangered, they populate almost all of the 48 continental states! We see several on our trips to the mountains and even around our own community.

Ranger Daniel had a fun activity for the students on this trip. He instructed them on how to make a Winged Turkey call like the Native Americans use to make. They busily sanded bones from the turkey and fit them together. They used silicon to seal the joints to hold the bones together. Then finally they were able to test their calls. It sounded like a room full of turkeys!

Ranger Daniel also tested their listening skills. He had a recording of different turkey sounds. He played them and told students about the different sounds and what they meant. Next, he had them listen to the different sounds and see if they could name the sound. They enjoyed this.

Finally, Ranger Daniel took everyone outside to the nature trail. He pointed out different habitat features the turkeys liked.